Customs of the Tagalog

Background of the Author

JUAN DE PLASENCIA
- Spanish friar of the Franciscan Order
1. Birth and Family Background
2. Arrival in the Philippines
3. Various Assignments in the Philippines
4. Notable Contributions to the Mission
5. Literary Works
6. Death

Birth and Family Background

 Fray Juan was born to the illustrious family of the Portocarreros in Plasencia in the region of Extremadura, Spain in the early
16th century
 Juan de Plasencia grew up during the period known as the Siglo de Oro, a Golden Age when arts and literature flourished in
many parts of Spain.

Arrival in the Philippines

 Fray Juan de Plasencia came together with the first batch of Franciscan missionaries in the Philippines
 The ship with Fray Juan on board, arrived at a port in Cavite on July 2, 1578.

Various Assignments in the Philippines

 Only two months after his arrival, he joined forces with another missionary, Fray Diego de Oropesa
 Both were already preaching around Laguna de Bay area and as far as Tayabas (present day Quezon Province) converting
souls to the Catholic fold
 His untiring work and missionary zeal pushed him further in the foundation and organization of several towns not only in
Laguna and Tayabas
 During the following years, they are also credited with the foundation of a large number of towns in the provinces of
Bulacan and Rizal such as: Tayabas, Caliraya, Lucban, Mahjayjay, Nagcarlan, Lilio, Pila, Santa Cruz, Lumban, Pangil, Siniloan,
Morong, Antipolo, Taytay, and Meycauayan
 His life was characterized by zeal, prayer, and dedicated service
 He was also known to be: a defender of the native population, looking after the poor, ill, or neglected, and standing up for
their rights on numerous occasions.
 He was also very keen on creating primary schools, and requested official permission for the
creation of educational centers
 An initiative that was approved by Domingo de Salazar, the first Bishop of Manila

Notable Contributions to the Mission

 Fray Juan de Oliver, Fray Juan de Plasencia, Fray Miguel de Talavera, Fray Diego de Asuncion, and Fray Geronimo Mont
 wrote a grammar and dictionary of the native language translated the Christian doctrine into both Tagalog and Bicolano.

Literary Works
 Juan de Plasencia wrote a number of books designed primarily to promote the understanding of both the Spanish language
among the natives, and the local languages among the missionaries, to facilitate the task of spreading Christianity.
"Arte de la lengua tagala"
"Declaracion de toda la doctrina Cristiana"
"Vocabulario”
 He is the author of the first book printed in the Philippines, the Doctrina Cristiana
Printed in: Spanish, Tagalog, Latin Script, Baybayin Script of the natives of that time, Chinese
 Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos (1589) helped understand and preserve many of the traditional ways of the local
population provided the first form of Civil Code used by local governors to administer justice
 A mystical work which he entitled La Santina was an Opus number on prayer and contemplation entirely done in the
Tagalog language
Death
Juan de Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590.
Historical Background of the Document
Manila in 1578
By the numbers
 57 years after Magellan’s Expedition
 35 years after Ruy López de Villalobos named Las Islas Filipinas (after Philip II of Spain) to the islands of Samar and Leyte
 7 years after Spanish Occupation of Manila and Tondo

Arrival of the Spanish

 Compact of friendship made between Martin de Goiti, master-of-camp of the Spanish fleet, and the
Raja Sulayman (1570)
 Compact broken by misunderstanding Miguel Lopez de Legazpi treated the Rajas and their relatives with deference. He
gave them privileges such as exemption to the tribute.
 The first missionaries who attempted to convert the natives were the Augustinians who came with the Legazpi expedition
 Much needed assistance was supplied with the arrival of the Franciscans (Plasencia was one of them) in 1678
 Knowing that they should take into account the geographical and cultural contexts of the natives which was much different
with Europeans, friar missionaries studied the culture of the natives
 Fray Juan de Plasencia addressed this letter to his superiors in the order to help plan evangelization of the natives
 It is considered as his most important work, being quoted, cited and even sometimes copied in its entirely by many later
contemporary historians and writers
 The original text can be found in General Archive of the Indies (Archivo General de Indias), Seville
 This letter made an impact to the early legal system of the country, preserving the formerly unwritten customs, traditions
and beliefs of the natives, and gave the Philippines its first Civil Code, used by the alcaldes-mayores in their administration
of justice.
 Franciscans were known for defending Filipino’s rights and tradition
 When the Dominican Bishop Domingo Salazar called a council to address the issue of the emancipation of the Filipino
slaves, the Franciscan superiors (Palencia was one of them) were present to support him
 The report described the government of the Tagalog, their administration of justice, slavery, inheritance, social system, and
marriages
 It also explained the relation between the different social classes and the origin of each
 Stating three ways of how a man may become a slave: birth, debt, and captivity in war. It tells, as well, of the king and of the
duties he rendered to his subjects

Analysis of Important Data

 ANALYSIS:
1. Community
2. Property
3. Adoration
4. 12 Priests of the Devil
5. Superstition
6. Burying the Dead

Community
Status/Caste System
 A leader of a certain tribe along the Visayas and Mindanao region is called a datu
 Even before the Spaniards came, it is prevalent that there is some sort of governance among the different groups wherein
there are certain rules or laws that one needs to follow
Datu – the chiefs of the village; they governed the people as captains even in wars, were obeyed, and revered; any subject who
committed any offense against them, or spoke to their wives and children, were severely punished.
Barangay – tribal gathering ruled by chiefs
It is called a “barangay” because they associate themselves with the “Malay” who are one of the first people to arrive in the
Philippines through a boat in which they call “barangay”. Some consisted of around
30 - 100 houses
Barangays also have some sort of diplomacy. All barangays were equal in terms of status.
 There are three statuses/castes within a barangay:
Maharlica, Aliping Namamahay, Aliping Saguiguilid.

Maharlica are those who are born free

Aliping Namamahay are those who serve their masters however, they can have their own properties
Aliping saguiguilid are those considered to be slaves who serve their masters or can be sold off

Maharlica (nobles)
● People who are born free
● Do not need to pay taxes
● Must accompany the datos in war
Aliping Namamahay (commoners)
● They have their own properties but has to serve their own masters
● Children belonging to this caste inherit the status of their parents
● Cannot be treated as a slave nor can be sold off.
Aliping saguiguilid (slaves)
● They serve their master in their houses and lands
● Can be sold off
● The master can reward his/her slaves by giving them a portion of the harvest so that the slaves would be faithful to him/her
A Maharlica would keep their status for a lifetime however, this can be taken if he/she marries a slave. In this case, the kids would be
divided and they would inherit the status of their mother or father.

Property
The land area was divided among the whole barangay, especially the irrigated portions.
No one from a different barangay could cultivate land unless they inherit or buy the land
The lands on the tingues, or mountain ridges, are not divided but owned by the barangay as a whole.
At the time of rice harvest, any individual (regardless of their barangay) that starts to clear any land area may sow in it.
Fisheries of chiefs had established limits, and sections of the rivers for markets
Unless you were a member of the chief’s barangay, you had to pay for the privilege of fishing or selling in the chiefs’ fisheries
In the case of a divorce, if the wife would leave her husband for the sake of marrying another man, all her belongings plus a certain
amount would be given to her former husband however, if she chooses to leave and do not have any plans to marry, then all of her
dowry will be returned to her.
In the case of an adoption, the children would receive double the value of how much they were bought to be adopted
Investigations and sentences for the accused shall be presented and read in front of the tribe

Adoration
There were no temples or sacred places in which Filipinos would worship
The word simbahan means a place to worship which is constructed at a large house of the chief where people of the tribe go to
celebrate festivals (aka pandot or worship) they beat large and small drums successively during the feast which usually lasted 4 days
nagaanitos - worship; (anito - soul or spirit of ancestors)
sibi - a temporary shed, made on each side of the chief’s house, for the assembled people

Badhala, one of their many idols, was the “all powerful”, or “maker of all things” for the Tagalogs
They worshipped the sun, the moon, and some, even the stars or a particular dead man with special capability that fought bravely or
protected them in their time of need
sun - almost universally respected and honored because of its beauty;
moon - they would rejoice, especially when new stars - they did not name them except for the morning star, which they called Tala
“Seven little goats” - the Pleiades; a star cluster
Balatic - the Greater Bear constellation
Mapolon - the change of seasons
lic-ha - idols; images with different shapes;
Dian masalanta - an idol; patron of lovers and generation
Lacapati and Idianale - idols; patrons of the cultivated lands and husbandry;
buaya - crocodiles; were respected by the Tagalogs due to their fear of being harmed by them; they offered a portion of what they
carried in their boats to them

12 Priests of the Devil

Catolonan
● Priest from a people of rank
● Officiates the offering sacrifice for a feast and the food to be eaten being
offered to the devil
Mangagauay
● They pretend to heal the sick in order to deceive others
Manyisalat
● They can cast remedies to couples for them to abandon one another
Mancocolam
● Can emit fire from himself which cannot be extinguished
Hocloban
● Much more powerful than a mangagauay in which they can kill anyone
without the use of any medicine. They can also heal those who are ill.
Silagan
● They would tear out and eat the liver of those they saw were wearing white
Magtatangal
● They would go out at night without their heads and put it back into their
bodies before the sun rise
Osuang
● Tribesmen reported that they saw the “osuang” who can fly and murdered
a man and ate his flesh.
Mangagayoma
● They would seduce their partners with charms and other accessories so
they can deceive them.
Sonat
● This devil helped people to die. They can also know if the soul they helped
to die can either be saved or not.
Pangatahojan
● They can predict the future.
Bayoguin
● These are men who are in the nature of a woman.

Superstition
- They find omens in events they witness (i.e. when someone sneezed, met on their way a rat or serpent, or the
Tigmamanuguin bird sang they would go home in fear that evil would befall them if they continued their journey)
- The Tigmamanuguin bird’s (a blue bird as large as a turtle-dove) song had two forms: a good omen, and a bad omen

Burying the Dead

- In burying the dead, the corpse would be placed beside its house and be mourned at for 4 days.
- It will then be laid on a boat which serves as a coffin which is guarded by a slave.
The grief of the relatives of the deceased is followed by eating and drinking.

Contribution & Relevance in Understanding

- The Philippines is a civilized country even before the Spanish occupation. It is not true that the country does not practice
any religious activity.
- These traditions built the country's distinct identity from other countries.
- The country possesses a social hierarchy that is why a sense of authority was established.
- It strengthens the culture of Filipinos because it signifies that even before these occupations the country has this distinct
culture and belief system of its own. The country is not solely dependent on other nations and it can actually have stood up
on its own.

Relevance of the Document

- The relevance of the document in the present time is that we still use/believe in some of this norms.
- It informed us that the Natives (Filipinos) in some degree had classifications way back as to where you belong in the society.
- In today’s time, we still use “barangays” pertaining to the smallest division or unit of a city.
- It also shows that even before the Spanish came, we had a system in which we could trade with other countries and be
independent.